


...And Bucky and Baby Makes Three.

by Scotty1609



Series: ...And Bucky and Baby Makes Three [1]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Parents, Angst, Awesome Shuri (Marvel), Awesome T'Challa (Marvel), Baby Fic, Baby Names, Bucky Barnes & Shuri Friendship, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers Feels, Dora Milaje - Freeform, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, No Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Parent Bucky Barnes, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Past Relationship(s), Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Roommates, Single Parents, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, T'Challa (Marvel) Is a Good Bro, Wakanda (Marvel), Wakandan-American Ambassador Bucky Barnes, boys being stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 20:29:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18598849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scotty1609/pseuds/Scotty1609
Summary: “Yeah. She sleeps most of the day. Wakes up every couple of hours.” Bucky winced a bit. “Sorry in advance for the screaming at 3AM.”“It won't be a problem,” Steve said. “I don't sleep all that well anyways.”Bucky's sad eyes made Steve want to take the statement back, but then Bucky was professing, “Yeah, I don't sleep all that good either.”.........................When Bucky comes back from Wakanda, looking more broken than Steve's seen him in years and with a newborn baby en tow, Steve opens back up his apartment and his life to his best friend in the hopes that he can help Bucky heal once more.(NO Endgame Spoilers!!!)





	...And Bucky and Baby Makes Three.

**Author's Note:**

> So I spewed this out when I was supposed to be cleaning my apartment cuz I move out in a week, but... I needed Stucky with a baby, so hERE YOU GO.
> 
> I've always liked the idea of Bucky gettin' with a strong Wakandan woman, but also....... stUCKY. So I had to write this fic. I also needed some ANGST so here you go...
> 
> Because who DOESN'T want some Stucky Angst With A Baby?
> 
> ALSO, I haven't re-read this fic or edited it yet, so please forgive me... I was just so excited to post it!! D'X

Upon seeing his friend, more tired than he'd seen the other man in years, Steve deflated a bit. Bucky's hair was tied up haphazardly, and his beard was unkempt. He had piled up layers on layers against the chill of New York's winter, his body not acclimated after multiple years of living on the temperate outskirts of Wakanda.

“Hey,” Bucky croaked, and Steve fought the urge to wince at the sound of his closest friend's voice.

“Hey, Buck,” Steve spoke gently back. His eyes flicked down to the pale yellow blanket-bundle nestled in Bucky's arms, but mentioned nothing of it. Instead, he turned his body to allow Bucky room to crowd around the entryway to his apartment. Bucky was tense, like an animal ready to bolt at a moment's notice, until Steve rested a heavy hand on his shoulder. Like dissipating smoke, all of the fight left Bucky's body. He leaned into Steve's hand, his eyes staring down at his precious cargo.

“Let's get you something to eat,” Steve said, his voice turned down a notch as to not wake the slumbering baby. “You guys had a long flight.” A long flight that Steve would have gladly ridden both ways on, just to be with Bucky, but his friend had insisted against it. Excuses poured out of Bucky like water through a slotted spoon, and despite his misgivings, Steve listened to them and stayed away.

But now, Bucky was here. He was here, in Brooklyn, in Steve's apartment, with _his daughter_. The idea of Bucky having a daughter- having a _baby_ \- was so foreign at first that Steve hadn't known what to think at first. But then his instincts won out, and he knew that any baby of his best friend's would be a baby worth loving and protecting. So he opened his apartment up to Bucky _and_ the baby, offering a space to live while the drama in Wakanda died down.

It wasn't everyday that the American-Wakandan ambassador had a baby with a Dora Milaje warrior, after all.

“I have some formula,” Steve said as he went into the kitchenette area of his tiny apartment. _Too_ tiny. He'd need a bigger place soon if Bucky and the baby became a... more _permanent_ fixture in his life. Which, of course, he was planning on whole-heartedly, his _feelings_ pushed aside for more important matters.

Like his best friend being pretty much homeless with a newborn baby.

“I didn't know what kind to get, so I got the one the worker suggested,” Steve said as he pulled the formula and a clean bottle out of his pantry. “And I got diapers. And a few toys and clothes...” A _few_ was putting it rather lightly, considering Steve had gotten enough rompers and onesies to last at least a month, and enough toys to start his own small business.

“You didn't have to,” Bucky said quietly as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room. Steve was ashamed of just how distant he and his friend had grown over the past several years. It was his fault, Steve knew, because pulling away from Bucky after the mess with Thanos and the Snap had been what drove Bucky back to Wakanda and into the arms of his... _lover_ , for a lack of better terms. But Steve was ready to face the music... he had to be. Bucky was in his freaking _living room_ , with a _newborn baby_. Steve didn't really have an option.

Bucky cleared his throat and said a bit louder, “Buy all that stuff, I mean. I brought a little bit with me...” He raised his shoulder to indicate towards the baby bag on it, and Steve shook his head in response.

“We don't know how long you guys will be here-” _Hopefully a good, long while._ “-so I took the liberty of stocking up.”

Steve set about making the bottle, heating up some water in the microwave to warm up the formula. So he had read a few books and perused a few mommy blogs in preparation, sue him. He wanted this transition to go as seamlessly as possible, for the baby _and_ for Bucky.

While the bottle was warming up, Steve grabbed out the fixings for a ham and cheese sandwich. It was one of the few things he knew how to cook, and he ate them so often that Sam claimed he was going to turn into one. Putting the sandwich on a plate with some carrots on the side, Steve grabbed the bottle and went out into the living room.

And Bucky was still just _standing there_.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Y'know you can sit down, right, Buck? The couch doesn't bite. I got rid of all the bugs.”

Bucky smirked a bit at the jest, dropping his baby bag and taking a seat on the far edge of the love-seat. He settled the baby on his chest, but Steve still couldn't see her face past the blankets. “Is she cold?” the thought suddenly struck him. “I can turn up the heat. I know it's cold out, but I run warm so I didn't think to-”

“She's fine,” Bucky murmured back as he reached over to take the bottle from Steve. “She's probably a bit hungry, though...” Bucky pulled the baby into the crook of his elbow, pushing away the blankets just enough for Steve to see her face.

And he melted.

Her face was all scrunched-up, her nose like a button, with sparse curls topping off her soft head...

She was _adorable_.

“Winna,” Bucky rasped out to Steve.

“What?” Steve asked back, slightly confused.

“Her name,” Bucky explained with a slight blush. “I never told you... It's Winna. It means 'friend'.”

Steve smiled down at the baby. Bucky ran his finger down her cheek, and she turned to suckle at her own fist. “Like Winnifred?” Steve inquired.

Winnifred Barnes had been a spitfire of a woman. A single mother to four children, she was the epitome of radiant power. Once Sarah Rogers had died, Winnifred had become a second mother to Steve. She worked at the local factory, did seamstressing on the side for a little extra cash, managed to put food on the table for all five children, and was still a wonderful, doting mother. All for a good twenty years before she got sick and passed away, just like Sarah...

“Kinda,” Bucky murmured, refusing to look over at Steve. “I mean, her full name is just 'Winna'. Winna Barnes.”

“It's beautiful,” Steve replied as Bucky raised the bottle to Winna's lips. The baby made a gurgling noise that could have been interpreted as happiness had she been a bit older. Then, she latched on to the bottle and began suckling greedily. “Hungry little thing,” Steve teased. He set the plate of food down on the coffee table in front of Bucky before taking a seat in the recliner next to him. Steve wasn't quite sure how eager Bucky would be to have Steve pressed up against him on the small love-seat while he was trying to feed his daughter.

“She could eat a whole horse if she had teeth,” Bucky chuckled back. Steve grinned.

It almost felt like old times.

Besides, y'know, the whole _newborn baby_ thing. And the Dora Milaje being furious with Bucky thing. And the 'being flushed out of Wakanda for having a secret forbidden relationship with a warrior of the throne' thing, which T'Challa was doing his best to smooth over with the frustrated Elders. In the meantime, Bucky and Winna would be more comfortable away from Wakandan soil, no matter how painful it might be. Steve _knew_ that, but it didn't hurt him any less to see his friend being run out of the place he had considered home.

Bucky reached for a carrot and tried to munch on it while balancing Winna and the bottle, and the way his arms were moving made Steve wince. Before he even knew what he was saying, Steve offered, “I could hold her. So you could eat, y'know...” His voice trailed off at the bewildered look Bucky gave him. “Oh come on, Buck, I'm not gonna drop her or anything.”

“I know that,” Bucky countered, bristling a bit. “I just... didn't think you'd _want_ to hold her.”

Steve stared back, just as much annoyed as he was surprised. “Bucky, of _course_ I want to hold her. She's your _daughter_ -” Steve bit back the next part he wanted to say. _'And my niece'._ Something about the way their relationship had ended- with the argument about Steve's despondency and Bucky running away from him back to Wakanda- was still fresh on Steve's mind, even with the years between.

Bucky paused, his face expressionless as he stared at Steve in thought. And then, he nodded. “Okay... Support her neck and head, and don't lean her back too much or she'll choke on the formula.”

Steve found himself rolling his eyes again. “I know how to hold a baby.” After all, Steve had been the primary caretaker for Claire- the youngest of the Barnes girls- whenever he wasn't sick and Bucky and Winnifred were at work.

Bucky smirked back, obviously remembering the same, and handed Winna over.

It was different, holding your friend's child versus their little sister. Something about holding Winna- who had been a part of Bucky in a way Claire hadn't- plucked at Steve's heartstrings one by one. He raised the bottle so that Winna could suck it down, and was surprised when the baby's eyes flickered open for a moment. It was just a moment, so brief that Steve almost missed it, but Winna's eyes were the same startling blue-grey color as her father's.

Steve said as much, and Bucky blushed. “They'll probably get darker when she gets older,” Bucky replied casually. “She'll look more like...” _More like her mom_. And the thought of Bucky's deceased lover was a bit too much for the both of them, so they grew quiet and looked away from one another. The only sounds in the room were that of Bucky's chewing and Winna's gulping.

It wasn't until Winna was done with her bottle that Steve spoke again. “Do you have a rag? So I can burp her?”

Bucky cocked an eyebrow, but still reached for his baby bag. “You didn't buy one?” he teased.

Steve blushed. Of _course_ he had bought one- he had bought _several_ , actually- but he didn't want to get up to go grab one. “Just shut up and hand it over,” he grumbled and then squawked when Bucky threw the rag at his face. It was clean, but the taste of fabric in his mouth was enough to have Steve gagging and grumbling. Bucky laughed, and Steve warmed up at the sound.

It was the first time he'd heard Bucky laugh in... in a while.

Steve rested Winna against his shoulder, patting her back gently to try and burp her. Bucky shook his head and readjusted Steve's grip on the baby, ordering him to pat her back a bit harder.

“I don't want to _hurt_ her!” Steve objected.

“And you _won't_ , Stevie.” _Stevie_. It felt good to hear Bucky call him that again. “But she's not gonna burp unless you put a bit more force behind it. Like this, see?” Bucky demonstrated, and Steve followed suit. Soon enough, Winna was burping and puking up spit onto the rag on Steve's shoulder. Steve winced a bit at the warm bile that seeped through the rag into his shirt, then scowled when Bucky laughed at him.

“You get used to it fast,” Bucky reassured him.

And- _oh_ \- this was something he was going to get _used_ to. Taking care of a baby. Taking care of _Bucky's_ baby. The thought did things to Steve's stomach, making his chest warm up and butterflies flit into his throat. “Is it time for her to sleep?” Steve inquired, trying not to flinch at the sound of his croaking voice.

Bucky smirked, but didn't comment. “Yeah. She sleeps most of the day. Wakes up every couple of hours.” Bucky winced a bit. “Sorry in advance for the screaming at 3AM.”

“It won't be a problem,” Steve said. “I don't sleep all that well anyways.” _I haven't since you left._

Bucky's sad eyes made Steve want to take the statement back, but then Bucky was professing, “Yeah, I don't sleep all that good either.”

The two grew quiet. They probably would have just sat there for the next few hours if not for Winna's whining. “I bought a play-pen I can put her in,” Steve murmured, “but I figured you'd bring a crib. Or we could go pick one out together.”

Bucky's smile, small as it was, could have powered the sun. “I've got a crib, but it won't be here til tomorrow or the day after... Shuri's sending some other stuff, too.”

And knowing that Shuri and T'Challa were still on Bucky's side sent a flood of relief through Steve. “Sounds good,” he said, moving to stand and lead Bucky down the hallway. The play-pen was in Steve's room- the only bedroom in the house, which led to more questions about where Bucky and Steve were going to be sleeping that night- and was already set up with blankets and a few stuffed animals. Bucky snorted when he saw the Captain America plush, and Steve tried to explain that it was a joke from Sam and Natasha. Bucky waved him off with a quiet, “S'cute.”

Steve couldn't explain away the blush that filled his cheeks.

Winna settled down almost as soon as Steve swaddled her back up, her tiny, scrunched-up face relaxing minutely into the warmth of her bedding.

“She's... amazing,” Steve said as the thought came to him. “She's so... _good_.”

“Good?” Bucky inquired confusedly.

“Yeah,” Steve nodded back. “Good. Not...” _Broken, tainted, ruined-_ “...rowdy or anything, I mean.”

Bucky snorted. “Like I said, wait until 3AM to make that judgment.”

Something told Steve that he'd think the same thing even in the wee hours of the morning, sleep-deprived and everything.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I normally ship WinterIron as my OTP (TonyxBucky), but I felt like this fic would do best as a Stucky fic. So.... yeah.
> 
> Lemme know what you wanna see next from Steve, Bucky, and Winna! Because I love writing kid fics. They're what I live off of. I thrive reading fics about strong men with little babies. (my ovaries exploded while writing this fic, not gonna lie)
> 
> Please comment any fic ideas you have!! And PLEEEASE DONT SPOIL ENDGAME IN THE COMMENTS CUZ I HAVENT SEEN IT YET DX


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